Who we are
by Rose85
Summary: White teams up with a cult that Alec helped distroy while back at manticore. will be a M/A Fic. Author Note added.
1. Who we are part 1

Title- Who we are  
  
Rating – R, contains violence.  
  
Summery – White teams up with a religious group Alec helped destroy while he was a Soldier for Manticore and things begin to get nasty. M/A Eventually  
  
Pairing - M/A  
  
Disclaimer - I do not own any of the characters from Dark Angel. And I do not own Mickey Mouse, (This is not a D A and Mickey Mouse cross over, I just mentioned him… laugh)  
  
  
  
1.1 Chapter 1  
  
1.2 August 2016  
  
She screamed as the knife cut through her flesh. Blood pored through an open wound that ripped through her pale skin, breathing deeply she brought her knee in front of her and kicked out. She made contact with her attackers shin, rolling over she pined him to the ground.  
  
"The missions been compromised, X5 421, 426 and 432 are down I repeat are down, 420 is dead. Its end of mission" X5 494 waited for a replay, slammed his fist into the side of their attacker and grabbing hold of 426's arm. She placed one arm over his shoulder and the other over her wounded stomach.  
  
"Continue with mission target must be illuminated" his headpiece squeaked into his ear. As he looked around he noticed that the only thing keeping this place together was rusty beams and rotted wood. Slamming his fist once more into their attacker face he turned around and pushed an explosive into one of the wooden pillars.  
  
"Every one out" Other X5's grabbed wounded while 494 shoved 426 through an open window.  
  
426's body was slammed to the ground as the warehouse exploded, shrapnel flew through the air coming down on them in violent bursts of smoke, brick, glass and burnt metal. Flames consumed what was left of the warehouse  
  
"Where going to need medics." 494 scanned the remains of the warehouse looking for any sine of life, "Target is dead I repeat target is dead"  
  
"Casualties" His ear piece cackled  
  
"Five, three stab wounds the rest injured during the blast and one death. I took out the warehouse, the trees would have concealed most of the blast but were going to need a clean up Crew".  
  
"Back up will be sent immediately, clean up crew and medics. Hold your position"  
  
"Yes sir"  
  
494 rolled over and placed his hand onto 426 wound, "Were to hold our position, medics are on their way. We shouldn't have attracted any unwanted attention, this is a pretty remote area." All conscious X5's nodded.  
  
494 looked back at the smouldering warehouse, as dawn came near a sudden realisation came into focus. Their latest target was from a band of men formed by a religious group bent on illuminating any thing that breached humanity, any thing unnatural. Them.  
  
If their leader had failed would they send some one in his place, if being out side Manticore meant being captured, tortured then sent to hell, the idea of being out side Manticore for too long terrified him. 494 took one last look at the warehouse, seven  
  
X series soldiers so fare had been murdered because of who they were. There leader may be dead but religions don't just die  
  
1.2.1 Present  
  
"Hay Alec open up, Original Cindy wants a word" She slammed her fist against the door one more time before giving in to the funny looks she was getting from angry residents. "Hay a girl's got to be noticed" Rolling her eyes at a group of lads who were eyeing her. She moved forward and pressed her face against the door,  
  
"Hay I promise to give you a head start, open up, I know your in their, don't make me break this door down". Turning toward the many pairs of eyes staring at her, "Hay he's making me and my girl do double shifts because he cant get his lazy ass out his door.  
  
After hearing a couple of tut's and grunts the gathering residents went back into their own apartments or continued their way down the narrow hall. She waited a couple of seconds before hearing the door being unlocked from the inside.  
  
The door swung open slightly revealing a rather raged looking Alec, he moved to the side allowing Original Cindy to make her way into the dark apartment.  
  
***  
  
"I swear if he isn't in today I am going to kick his transgenic ass, do you know how many dates I've missed with Logan, do you know how many I've had to cancel".  
  
Max slammed her locker shut and grabbed her jacket off the floor. "He has no idea how the real world works"  
  
"Well he has been at Manticore for the last 20 years" Original Cindy placed her bag into her own locker, "He seemed pretty tense when I saw him yesterday. I think he said Five words before asking me to leave"  
  
Max grunted, "Were any of his words, I.Will.be.in.tomorrow," counting down on her fingers. She watched her friend nod, "Good, because I have had enough of his sorry ass moping around about all the bad stuff he got him self messed up in" Max pretty much regretted the words before they left her mouth.  
  
She her self had done some pretty nasty things while at Manticore. And had also done her share of moping. She signed before resting her head on her locker. "It's going to be one of those days"  
  
"Hay Max" Max turned towards Alec who was working towards them. He was wearing his goofy grin that made Mickey Mouse look like a gerbil. Every piece of sympathy that had seeped into Max disappeared with every step Alec took towards them.  
  
"Where the hell have you been, No let me rephrase, What sorry girl did you bed this time" Max stabbed him in the ribs when he placed his hand on her shoulder. He backed up laughing.  
  
"Your not joules are you Max," Max glared at him.  
  
"Their not bothering you are they, Ladies back to work" Normal patted Alec on the back. "I'm shore Max can do double shifts again, you keep up your strength"  
  
Max Fumed, "What, no I've made plans" She placed her hand in front of Normal's face before he could tell her to cancel. "Your going to pay for this" Max pushed past Alec while Original Cindy glared at Normal.  
  
"You now what Normal, I feel much better, Max can go on her date" He smiled at Max who had turned around. Alec headed towards his own locker. And she thinks I mix business with pleasure. Opening his locker he looked down to searched through his bag for his bike keys. As he looked up into his locker, the silent air was ripped through by a faint cry. He slammed his locker shut. Normal raced over and put his hand on his shoulder. Alec jumped back and slammed into the row of lockers behind him. All set of eyes bore into him.  
  
"What the hell was that" Normal looked at Alec then at his locker.  
  
"Nothing, just nerves, I'm fine" Max had stepped behind Normal and for a second caught Alec's eyes. The normal mysteries fire that burnt behind them was gone replaced with it was a look of fear and helplessness.  
  
"OK there's nothing to see here people, back to work" Normal glanced at Alec. "You shore your ok, mentally speaking" Normal kept his voice low. But it wasn't out of reach to a genetically engineered soldier like Max. While Alec nodded, Normal patted him on the shoulder and left.  
  
Max stepped up to Alec, "Are you Ok" Alec looked at her then back at his closed locker. He re opened it and took out a large photo that had been stuck to the back metal. He then handed it to Max. Max just had to take one look at the photo before understanding why Alec had reacted so badly.  
  
"Who is she" Max was looking at a young women, crippled, she lay on her back. Blood run from several open wounds. She was an X5, Max could see her barcode through knots of blond hair. Alec took the photo back, picked his bag of the floor and re shut his locker.  
  
To be continued …  
  
  
  
So that do you think, please review I would love to hear your comments and suggestions. But this is my first ever Fanfic so be nice. I've so fare written chapters one – four so I'll keep posting if you want. 


	2. Who we are part 2

1.1 Chapter 2  
  
October 2016  
  
X5 426 pushed the door in front of her open. It creaked as it slid across the floor. Taking a depth breath she craned her vision searching for signs of life. She was in an old factory, which was run down and falling apart. The machinery had picked up dust and cobwebs over the years. Yet she could hear a low rumbling.  
  
She turned her head towards the sound and found herself looking at an old power source. People were living here. After moving further into the factory she became aware of the sound of distant voices in the background but was unable to make out what they were saying. Following the sound of the voices 426 found her self walking towards a dark corner. The voices continued to get louder as she got closer to a large concrete wall.  
  
Placing her head against the concrete she was able to make out what was being said. Pushing away from the wall 426 headed back towards her main root in. Passing through the open door she moved to the side of the building and into the dense forest surrounding it.  
  
"This is X5 426. I can confirm headquarters."  
  
"Copy that X5 426 please confirm address."  
  
"Maven Factory Sector 8"  
  
"Copy that X5 426"  
  
"Sir, I'm being watched" Two men jumped her, the first brought her too her knees while the other held her down. She kicked back her leg and slammed it into the face of one of her attackers. She could vaguely hear the voice of X5 494 ringing in her ear. Another man jumped her. He brought his fist up into the side of her Jew before grabbing the back of her hair. He pulled her head back so that she was looking at his.  
  
He was old, grey haired with a short beard. He was wearing a large red and black cloak with unknown symbols running down the side. He was a priest. Under the cloak he wore black with a white collar.  
  
"Bring her inside, check the perimeter for others." 426 was dragged by both arms back into the factory. She continued to kick at her captures until her legs burnt. Then with one mighty swing a fist came down onto her scull and she was propelled into unconsciousness.  
  
1.2 Present  
  
"She was in my unit back at Manticore" Alec handed the photo to Logan.  
  
"X5 426, she was a surveillance expert" Alec moved away from Max and sat down next to Asha on the couch. "She was murdered by a group of anti Manticores. Formed from a religious group. Their goal in life was to end ours." Max looked down at Alec he could see a hint of confusion in her eyes.  
  
"How did they know about Manticore, let alone what went on behind closed doors" Max looked at Logan than back at Alec.  
  
"They had some one working on the inside, David Gavings. From what I was told, he would send out information about X series soldier's on away missions. They would be hunted down and killed."  
  
Logan typed David Gavings name into his search database, hoping to add onto what Alec already new.  
  
"His Father was a priest" Logan pointed out. Alec nodded, "He died in a chemical leak three years ago.  
  
"Any way manticore found out that they weren't just random killings. Gavings father headed a cult of Anti Transgenic. They believed that we were a breach in nature." Alec checked to see every one was still with him. "Kind of a religious based group, they had some pretty strong views"  
  
"My unit was sent to kill Gavings father, he didn't die in a chemical fire"  
  
Max was finely catching on. "Manticore thought that if their leader was dead, this cult would die out. Manticore covered up his death. Made it look like an accident"  
  
"Manticore wanted all signs of this cult dead. X5 426 went to confirm the whereabouts of their headquarters. We were speaking through COM links, she was ambushed.  
  
2 "They killed her" Logan took another look at the dead women in the photo.  
  
The helplessness that Max saw in Alec's eyes when he had first found the photo was beginning to creeping back.  
  
"After she disappeared we took out their headquarters, it's supposed to be over" Alec ran his hand through his hair, the strain was beginning to show. Alec had a way of bottling up his emotions, but eventually they would show, sometimes with disastrous outcomes. Max moved next to him kneeling at the end of the couch.  
  
"Were find out where the photo came from, Alec has some thing happened to you in the past couple of days" Alec looked up at Max, heard a sensitive touch to her voice.  
  
"I haven't been sleeping well, that's why I've been calling in sick," Seeing the worry in her eyes, he continued. "It's nothing Max, I never sleep well. It just takes a while to catch up to me."  
  
"Maybe Alec shouldn't go home" Asha looked at Logan. Alec rubbed the back of his neck.  
  
"You know were probably over reacting, this cult is dead" Alec looked at his watch. Max signed Great now he's in denial. "Then who put the photo in your locker." Alec turned around and smirked at her, "Santa Clause" Seeing the anger creep into her face, "Look Max I appreciate your concern, I came hear didn't I, but I'm fine" Turning around he headed towards the exit.  
  
"Let him go" Logan put his hand next to hers, just out of reach, Max looked at it. Turned and walked out after Alec. Asha walked other to Logan. "I can ask around"  
  
"What" Logan looked up. Asha looked concerned. "See what I can find out, for Alec's sake. We may find that we are other reacting. It was just one photo"  
  
Logan looked back at his computer. "I don't think were over reacting, I think this could be series." Logan pushed his wheelchair out from under his desk. "The photo was put their for a reason, this cult may very well be up and running." Asha nodded. "I just hope Alec realises that."  
  
The day before  
  
Agent White pushed through double doors and continued to head up a long hallway. Turning right he stopped at a single door marked personals only. Waiting, a young man on his left opened the door. White stepped in followed by two other men.  
  
"Sorry that I'm late I had some important business I had to attend to, I hope I did not keep you waiting," Agent White, with two of his own men, stood opposite three other men.  
  
"Not at all, we have been made quite welcome" The oldest man stepped forward and shook Whites hand. The two men walked to his side and removed his cloak from his shoulders. White pointed to the chairs lying against the far wall, turning they headed towards them and seated them selves.  
  
"You may have heard that not long ago the Manticore facility was destroyed, I'm afraid that what you were told about the deaths of the X series soldiers were untrue. Although many were killed, more escaped and are living here in Seattle." The older man took in white's words.  
  
"My brother was murdered by them, we fell apart" Andrew Gavings looked at White. Standing up from his chair white moved so he was in front of Gavings.  
  
"But you are strong, and so is your quest" White took Gavings hands in his own, "I have been trying to rid earth of these anomalies." White looked up into Gavings eyes.  
  
"And now we will do it together" Gavings men stood from their seats and moved closer to white, "Starting here" White placed a set of photo's into Gavings left hand. Gavings looked at them, then at White. A smile spread across his face. He turned to his followers, "Contact the others, today is the start of the end" Gavings dropped the pictures, as they fluttered to the ground, White looked down, Max and Alec's features starred up at them.  
  
"Yes today is the beginning of the end"  
  
To be continued,  
  
Sorry about the lack of action, I promise it will pick up. Chapter 3 has lot of action in it. Any review would be helpful. I love hearing your comments. 


	3. Who we are part 3

1 Chapter 3  
  
  
  
A/N: Some comments about my spelling, just wanted to say I'm sorry. Not one of my strong points. Even with spell check I still get them wrong. Any way thanks for the reviews and keep it up.  
  
Present  
  
Max run up behind Alec and grabbed hold of his shoulder, Alec turned and pushed her away. Feeling stupid he stopped and looked her in the eyes.  
  
As soon as Max had started to show sympathy towards him it had made him feel insecure. He needed to bail. But Max being Max decided to follow him.  
  
"Look Max don't take this the wrong way, but leave me alone, I don't need your sympathy or your help." Alec turned and headed toward an unlighted street. His trained senses detected something in the shadows ahead. Peering over his shoulder he caught sight of Max still following him, from the look in her eyes he guessed she had detected some one else's presence to.  
  
He slowed down so Max could catch up with him. Allowing their footsteps to become one, they were able to make out the presence of a second person coming in from behind. They turned left walking into an abandoned alleyway. Know that three sets of footsteps echoed off the walls, theirs and the two people following them, Max and Alec could be curtain that the two people weren't just on a morning stroll.  
  
Grabbing Alec's arm they headed towards a wall that was cutting them off from the rest of the city. Listening Max could hear the footsteps getting louder. Picking up their pace they broke into a run. Max looked at Alec then at the fast approaching wall. Signalling with her hands, Alec looked at her and nodded.  
  
Just as their followers were yards away from their position, both soldiers jumped up at the wall, then pushed off of it. They somersaulted over the men's heads and landed behind them. The two men turned quickly, but Alec and Max were quicker, they brought up their legs and smacked their feet into the heads of both men. They fell against the wall and were pinned down by both soldiers.  
  
Max looked at the two men, they were both wearing black suites but were not part of Whites team, they did not appear to be wearing any sort of communication device or carrying any type of weapon. "Who do you work for, I want answer's right now." Max pushed her arm into the neck of the man she was holding down.  
  
"Max I don't think he can answer you" Alec starred at his pinned man "They don't have tongs" he turned to look at Max. Max continued to look at the man underneath her. "This one does" she pinched the guys nose making him open his mouth. "Your ones broken" If he hadn't felt so tense he might have laughed. Instead he just shook his head.  
  
Grabbing the guy's arms Alec pulled him to his feet, While Max did the same.  
  
"I'm going to ask you again, who do you work for." She slammed him into the wall, hoping to jog some memories.  
  
"I work for him" He smiled at her now looking up at the sky, "God" his teeth glistened as his lips parted.  
  
1.1 Flashback  
  
Max looked at her brother at the person he had become "Do you hate yourself that much. Hate what you're doing that much." He just looked at her like nothing she said mattered. "I do it for her." Ben tilted his head and looked her in the eyes. He could tell she was shocked. See the surprise in her eyes.  
  
Present  
  
Max's breath caught in her mouth as she registered what he had said, Alec called her name. She looked at him and for a second she saw her brother Ben staring back at her. She tried to clear the painful memories but they stabbed into her in a thousand different places. Her sudden weakness allowed the man in her grasp to take advantage. He slammed his head forward strait into Max. She let go of him and fell to the ground.  
  
He smiled down at her. His eyes blazed as he stepped forward. "Get ready to meet your maker"  
  
"Get up" Alec called her name but it sounded distant, "Max, move" Alec slammed his guy into the one Max had been holding. They both fell to Max's side. Alec grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. But he wasn't quick another to move. The man that had head butted Max went for his feet. He brought Alec down hard. Then moving forward he pinned him to the ground. The other slammed Max into the wall, her head hit the concrete before she slid towards the ground.  
  
  
  
***  
  
Logan increased his search, until pulling up several documents on Gavings family.  
  
"It looks like Gavings father had a twin brother." Logan nodded at Asha to come over to where he was sitting. "He disappeared shortly after his brother died." Asha nodded and looked at the computer screen,  
  
"Who's that" She pointed to a figure sitting between the two brothers. Logan looked at the text next to the family photo.  
  
"David Gavings" Logan continued to read from the text.  
  
"Isn't that the guy Alec said was working from the inside, giving out the details of the X series soldiers."  
  
"Yere" Logan nodded "It doesn't say what happened to him" Logan scanned the text once more hopping to come up with some more clues. After a minute of finding nothing useful, Logan headed towards his cell phone. He speed dialled Alec's number and waited for a reply.  
  
***  
  
Ringing invaded the back of Max's head. As her vision cleared she became aware of shouting. Shadows danced in front of her foggy eyes making her feel nauseous. So this was them, the cult Alec had talked about. Manticore didn't do a very good job at getting rid of them. Placing her hands in front of her she attempted to make her way into a sitting position. As she began to accomplish this some one slammed into her. She fell back against the wall and onto the cold floor.  
  
"Yore not making this any easier," She pushed Alec off of her. He rolled sideways onto his left arm. Propping him self up onto his elbows and then his hands. He kicked his feet backward and made contact with one of their attackers chest.  
  
"Shut up and help"  
  
Max scanned the street looking for Alec's cell phone. She punched one of the guys as he tried to get up. Finding the phone she ran towards it. But turned when she heard Alec yell.  
  
"Max" seeing the expression on his face, she decided to leave the phone. But when she caught the sight in his eyes she realised it wasn't the phone he was worried about. Matching Alec's gaze she found her self face to face with three more men. This keeps getting better and better. Alec why can't you make some nice friends.  
  
She moved forward towards Alec, who had decided that this was a fight that they couldn't win. Alec jumped up onto the wall and grabbed Max as she did the same. They jumped onto the over side and headed out into the lit street. She could still hear Alec's cell phone ringing until it stopped suddenly.  
  
"Any thing series" Alec turned to look at Max, who was swaying slightly. Max rubbed the back of her head then places her fingers in front of her eyes looking for blood. Finding non she looked back at Alec, "No just a bad head ache"  
  
"Max the emotional time bomb" Alec smirked, "For a second I though you'd lost it back there" Alec let go of her arm when she went to punch him. "Screw you Alec"  
  
Alec rolled his eyes, "Look I'm only telling you what I saw" Max grabbed his shoulders and slammed him through a broken door, she looked over her shoulder making sure no one was following them. As the cost was clear she headed through into an abandoned house.  
  
Alec had begun to pick him self up. "God Alec, the only reason I'm out here was because I was concerned about you." She made sure he was looking at her. " I could have left you for those guys, this is your mess not mine" She was taken back by the hardness of her words, even more so when she sore the expression in his eyes.  
  
She ran her fingers through her hair and sat against a dusty wall, "Sorry, I didn't mean it like it sounded" Alec came and sat next to her, "They reminded me of a bad memory" Max signed and rested her head against the wall. She noticed Alec staring at her. "I guess you weren't expecting to see them again" Alec nodded then turned to stare out the door. For the next hour both sat in silence, staring out the cracked door that isolated them from the outside world. They listened for any sine of life, keeping quiet when people passed. Mostly couples holding hands waiting to watch the sun go down. After a while the rising moon started to shine through cracks in the ceiling and door. Max watched as the white light lit up Alec's eyes. Max looked into them and noticed moonlight sparks dancing around his pupils.  
  
It took another second for her to notice that they were surprisingly bright. The moonlight picked up a tear as it trailed down his cheek.  
  
Flash back  
  
Alec looked at her "She was in my unit"  
  
Logan looking at the picture "They killed her"  
  
Present  
  
"Ow god Alec" Max pulled his head onto her crossed knees, "You shouldn't bottle up your emotions," Max traced her fingers down the side of his face then through his hair, trying to soothe him. "I was so screwed up in my own emotions I didn't think about how this was affecting you." She let him lay there, letting him cry for the lost X series soldiers. She let him cry for his friends. For his family.  
  
To be continued…  
  
  
  
Part 4 is written and ready to post. Please, please review. Then I will post quicker. I would love to here what you think  
  
Help…  
  
When I edit this onto sight. I notice the font changes and the parts that are in italic are no longer in italic. I'm not sure how to change it when I post. Also where do the numbers come from they keep popping up in some paragraphs. What am I doing wrong. Any suggestions or help will be welcomed at rommie85@hotmail.com  
  
Thank you 


	4. Dark Angel Part 4

Chapter 4 

* * *

As White walked through the door into the main living quarters, he was surprised to see Gavings standing over one of his men. He lay on his back with a small amount of blood trickling from his cracked lips. White looked up at Gavings and also saw blood splashed across his knuckles. 

Clicking his fingers, one of his own men left the quarters and came back shortly with a cloth. He handed it to White who then handed it to Gavings.

"I hope I am not disturbing you, I could come back later." White motioned for his men to leave. Gavings shook his head. The man on the floor slowly got up, bowed his head and quickly left. 

"We have taken the first step, and made our presence known." He went and sat at one of the tables at the side of his room. "But my men were unsuccessful in capturing the anomalies." He signed before continuing. "It has been a long time for me and my men, we are out of touch with the world" 

"Maybe you could now accept my proposal. Allow some of my men to accompany you next time, they have fought them before." White looked to his left and noticed one of Gavings men looking at him. 

"I'm sorry, I want you to meet David, the son of my brother. He survived the attack on our headquarters, before we went into hiding." White stepped up to him and shook his hand. "He was also one of the men sent to capture the anomalies. He is my most trusted friend, like a son. He would never endanger us." White took this in.

"If he ended up in their hands,"

Gavings cut him off. "He has no tongue," White studied the younger man. He stood silently watching. "He was seriously injured during the attack, it was the only way". White nodded.

"I accept your proposal Agent White." White nodded. He bowed his head and left. Walking through the door, he was met by two of his men.

"Trusting fools, I have them right were I want them." Moving further down the hall out of reach from Gavings quarters, White stopped. 

"I want you to put patrols at every sector. I want 452 and 494 found. Then you are going to lead Gavings to them, he can deal with them first. Once there, out of the way, they can move onto more of the freaks. Seattle should be clean in a couple of weeks. 

***

Moonlight swam over her features and enhanced the shape of her face. Her long black hair rained over her shoulders, disappearing into the blackness beneath her sleeping body. Alec's tense muscles slowly unknotted as her body heat spiralled through him, warming his soul. 

They had fallen asleep together, him first as he had woken with his head resting on her shoulders. She looked so peaceful. She had sympathised with him, she had soothed him, and she had allowed him to keep his dignity as they wept for loved ones lost. She deserved the comfort of sleep.

But sleep to him, was nothing more than a different way for forgotten memories to submerge and show their ugly faces. When there is no one in the darkness of night to pull you from those dreams, then sleep could be your worst enemy. 

Feeling Max stir, Alec looked up at her from his resting-place. As she moved slightly, more moonlight poured in over them. _But the darkness can't reach you here, because I'll protect you with my soul. _

Hours later, slowly stretching her body, Max's first thought involved a leaking ceiling and too much to drink. She felt dizzy, yet alive, and a cold but gentle breeze fluttered over her face. 

__

Please don't tell me the ceiling's fallen in. After a couple more seconds adjusting to the atmosphere, Max opened her eyes. 

"Morning. God, for someone so small you sleep like a hound." Alec's irritating voice filled her ears. Max glared at him but decided not to throw a comment back.

"Are you o.k?" 

Meeting his eyes, Max searched them for any signs of fear or helplessness. After finding none, she turned her gaze to the broken door.

"I'm always all right." 

Alec stood up. About an hour ago, he had moved from where he had fallen asleep, to a resting-place against a wooden pillar. He had watched her sleep, unable to sleep himself. He hid his eyes as she tried to make contact again. 

"What's Logan going to think?" 

"What?"

"You spending the night with me." 

Max shoved him against the wall before heading out into the morning sunlight. "God, you are such a jerk." She headed toward the main street. "The sun should be coming up soon. We should be safe during the day, they're not going to make any moves in broad daylight."

"So I guess this means you won't be coming to my place," Alec called after her. After hearing her mumble a few words he nodded to himself. 

I'll protect you with my soul...

Stop the darkness from finding you...

"Keep away from me Max," Alec whispered into the morning breeze, allowing it to be carried to her. But when she turned around, he was already gone. 

__

So in death I can protect you…

He wasn't going to let Max get involved, she deserved better than this. By pushing her away he could protect her. This cult was his problem. He'd deal with it alone. 

To be continued…

Not one of my best chapters. I know what I want to write, but doesn't make sense when I write it. I'll write and post chapter 5 when I get more reviews. 


	5. Who we are part 5

A/N: there is a paragraph in this with bold and italics. The bold parts are the parts Alec remembers. The italics are the part he doesn't. Well your get it when you find it. It's some where in the middle. I think. Chapter 5 

Max studied the mirror in front of her. Her bruised face stared back at her, eyeing her suspiciously. She felt like an impostor. The person that was looking back at her wasn't her. It couldn't be. 

But if it was, then she had become the very thing that she promised her self she would never become. Detached from over people's emotions. Unable to see past her own feelings. Inhuman.   

Pushing strands of her hair behind her ears, Max closed her eyes and for a second felt Alec's body against hers. Trembling as he silently cried. She had felt guilty for not being able to comfort him with words. 

She was totally unprepared for Alec to show his emotions, especially to her. But the fact that she put her own emotions before Alec. Not realising he was hurting inside. That's what made her inhuman. 

She couldn't live with guilt. It eats you alive until there's nothing left but bad memories. When she had watched Alec cry over Rachael's deathbed. There was nothing for her to say nothing that she could say. So she had left Alec to mourn on his own. 

So when Alec's tough exterior was slowly being unravelled in front of her, she had comforted him the only way she knew how. She held him. And she eased him to sleep until, she herself had finally given into her tired body. That was the humane thing to do. 

She placed her hand onto her reflection and gently ran her fingers along a bruise that had started to appear around her left eye. She then placed her fingers onto the real thing. Wincing as her cold hand touched bruised tight skin.

Even if she had felt inhuman for only a couple of seconds. It was still there. It would never leave her. It would hold her down. She could scream as loud as she could. Kick as hard. But she would always remember how it felt. She would never let it happen again. Alec needed her. And in a way she needed him.

Her feelings were jumbled up in her head. She didn't know how she felt. Whether what she felt was real. The more she thought about Alec, the more confusing her feelings got. Seeing Alec in a different light, then to awaken to the jerk that she met back at Manticore.  

Max was jolted from her thoughts by the sound of her alarm clock. As she turned to look at it, she realised she could do with a long walk before heading to work. Grabbing her coat she raced out her front door, leaving her hellhole behind.  

***

Alec felt suffocated and alone when he arrived at Jam Pony. The morning noise of chatting people crushed him further into his black bubble that he had created around himself. The one that stopped the outside world from seeping in. He felt like all eyes were on him. Their voices seemed to load, yet distant. He was unable to make out what anyone was saying. His head was swimming in the nothingness of paranoia. 

He rotated his shoulder muscles, trying to get rid of the sudden cramp that was building along his back and across his lower neck. Putting on his best grin he steered him self toward were Normal was sorting out the morning deliveries.

Normal's mouth literally dropped open when one rather tired looking Alec stepped in front of him. "Jesus Christ" Normal moved from behind his desk to meet Alec 

"You look like you slept in them all night." Norman pointed a finger at his unattended clothes. He watched as Alec shrugged him of, then take another step forward until he was close enough to sit on his desk. Making himself convertibles he covered his mouth and succumbed to what seamed like lack of sleep. 

His eyes were heavy and his face seamed a weird grey colour. He was surprised the guy wasn't coming down with something again. Or still not fully recovered from his last sick leave. 

 "Sorry about the disappearing act yesterday. Something came up." Alec fiddled with one of Normal's pens that he had left unattended. Then ran his hand along the back of his neck, still trying to get rid of the unwanted cramp that seamed to be eating him alive.  

"No problem, just don't let it happen again."     Normal headed back behind his desk. Then took another look at Alec. Concern filled his eyes, then a sense of panic.  

"Hay, you haven't been fighting without telling me, you know I'm your biggest fan." 

Alec would have smiled, but the knots in his stomach seemed to tightening their grip on him. To the extent where his lungs didn't seem to want to function properly.  Thinking it best just to dive right into the deep end, Alec went strait to the point.

"Hay, I need a favour. Yesterday a friend of mine left something in my locker. For a practical Joke." Alec looked into Normal's eyes hoping he was buying the lie. "Any way I haven't seen this friend in forever. I was hoping you saw someone during work, before. Anything. It's kind of important. To both of us." 

Alec searched Normal's facial features hoping to get a clue to what he was thinking. The silence between them was unbearable. He new Normal had something to say. Normal just didn't realise how important to Alec this something was.    

Normal stopped what he was doing to look up at Alec. Connecting with his eyes for a second he saw a glimpse of desperation. But it was gone before he had time to react to it. He thought for a while before answering.   

"You now what. I did see some one. Short block, beard. Didn't say much, though mentioned he was lost." 

He stopped to think, not realising the suspense was killing his young friend. "I could tell he wasn't one of mine. Ow and he stunk of Salt." Normal's eyes seemed to light up. "Maybe he works in the salt factory. Or with fish" Alec considered this. The knots in his stomach were slowly disappearing allowing him to breathe again. Uncertainty was a killer. 

He had to stay one step in front of his opponent.

"This friend of yours, is he visiting, or hear to stay." Normal looked back at his desk as a call came in.

Once I'm through, the only reason for them to stay would be to visit graves that I'm going to fill out. 

"No, they're just visiting."

Normal covered the mouthpiece. After telling the person on the over end of the line that Jam Pony was the fastest and best delivery around. 

"They" Normal, took down the address that was being given over his headset.

"Well I'm hoping that this one friend will lead me to more of my friend's. Kind of a large group. Were really close." _To the extent where I blew up their homes and they killed off some of my family. _

Alec could feel the anger building up in his system. He didn't like how it felt. He could feel it consuming him. Mocking him. He didn't know where it came from. 

**"_Sir, I'm being watched"__ Her frantic voice filled my ears.  I cried out to her but she didn't answer me. _****I ordered to answer me but the line went dead. The failed connection buzzed in my ears. It told me that I had failed. ****I grabbed another line and hooked it up to the computer. ****Still nothing, the silence was agonising. It threatened to consume me. **

**_I saw more of my unit franticly trying to retrieve the connection__. _****Then I heard the orders. ****STAND DOWN. ****Every one stopped, looked at the officer that ranked higher than me.  But the words didn't mean anything to me. I raced forward but was held back by two guards. I spoke without permission. I abandoned protocol.  **

**"Permission go in and retrieve X5 426 Sir?" He told me to stand down. Then he looked at me as if I was an annoyance. He looked at me like I shouldn't be there. Like I did not mater. Like 426 didn't mater. But she was my family.**

_What was I still doing here? **Standing still. But I couldn't move. I didn't no what to do. I had never had to think this way. Why wasn't I trained to deal with this?**_

_My training had to be wrong. This was wrong. Manticore was wrong. I'm wrong. Broken._

He opened his eyes to see normal smiling at him holding up a package. _Broken. The memory flashed past his eyes again. The feelings that he had felt. He couldn't remember it happening like that. It hadn't happened like that. That's not what he remembered. _

Brainwashed. Feelings of helplessness filled his head, unable to do anything. He'd been brainwashed. He had started to question Manticore. He had started to question himself. So they stole from him, his thoughts, his feelings. 

They had allowed him to keep the main parts of the mission, but taken away the thoughts that made him question it.  

Brainwashed by Manticore. That's where the anger came from. 

He was no longer dealing with the loss of a soldier, someone that was in his unit. He was no longer upset because they had killed people that he had grown up with. He was upset because they had killed someone he cared about. 

He didn't realise it, but had cared about 426. That's why he had cried in front of Max. Why the photo got to him so much. The cult had killed someone he loved.

That's why he wanted to protect Max, why he felt so protective over her. He wanted to stop it happening again. Stop the cult from killing someone he loved. Someone he loved more than just a friend. 

"Hay you still with me." The voice was distant. Alec looked up to see Normal waving his hand in front of his face, trying to get his attention. 

"I'm good. Just tired." He grabbed the package from Normal. "I'll get this done early." Normal didn't seem to be buying it. _I need to improvise. _

_Who am I kidding improvise is my middle name. Well, actually I don't have a middle name, or last. But hay. We all like to be special. _

_Different. And a complete freak. Broken. I had feelings for 426. And she died. Then they took the feelings away. _

_I had feelings for Rachael. They made me not care. I didn't understand what I was feeling. Unable to adjust. Why wasn't I trained to deal with this?_

_I have feelings for Max, unable to adjust.  Unable to understand. Will I loose those feelings to? Have them ripped out of my soul. They all died. Every one I loved died. _

_Max?  _

"I was with a girl" _well it was kind of true. Had to improvise. Normal smiled. Buying the excuse. For being tired. Detached.  "Well, next time I won't mix business and pleasure."  _

"We all need social lives." Normal patted Alec on the back. It seemed to be turning into a habit. Good job he was an X 5. Over wise he probably would have had permanent damage by now. Feeling the air between them start to harden. Alec felt it was now time to bale.

Turning around he walked strait in a surprised Max. He felt his heart skip a note as he looked into her beautiful eyes. He mentally punched him self for letting his black bubble split open. He looked down to see his package lying on the floor.

_He looks so lost. Max bent over to pick it up. Alec just stared at it. She had seen him look at her. But he had turn away. Like he was unable to keep the eye contact. She held onto his package for a couple of seconds to allow Alec to adjust his backpack. He seemed so tense. So alone. Afraid. _

"Sorry" He took the package from her and headed out into the busy world. Max could just watch. Her mind seemed to blank out. Making it impossible for her to say anything. _Follow him.  As her brain seemed to kick into gear, she grabbed her bike and followed Alec out into the real world.     _

"I hope you're expecting double shifts. Make up for yesterday." She vaguely heard Normal call out to her, but was to preoccupied to think twice.  

"Alec wait up." She could feel the desperation in her voice. She sped up so that she was riding beside him. 

"Max, please. This isn't a good time." When was a good time? He tried to hide the pleading. It made him sound weak. But it was there. And he knew that Max had heard it. Because when he looked at her, he could see sympathy in her eyes. But he could also see something else. He had seen it before, but couldn't place it. 

He looked into 426's eyes. Saw the twinkle that meant she was thinking about him. He smiled and watched as she smiled back. He felt her hand run down his left cheek. Saw the confusion on her face. The same confusion that mirrored his own face. The feelings meant nothing to him. Had never felt them before. Why wasn't I trained to deal with this? But they made him feel good. Worm inside. Wanted. He could tell she felt the same. He continued to look into her eyes. Max stared back…

Alec nearly gasped. Max was staring at him. He saw her eyes. Saw the same twinkle he saw in 426. Ow god.   

"We need to talk," Max stepped of her bike to get closer to him. For some reason it made her feel safer. 

"God, Max. Didn't you hear me? I said this is a bad time." _Don't make eye contact.  _

She's just looking at me. She looks hurt. I've hurt her. 

"When is a good time" Max felt her emotions begin to seep through. Seeing him like this. He looked so helpless. "Alec this is important. We have to deal with this. We can't just hide and wait for it to go away." Max didn't now whether she was taking about the cult or her feelings. But all he did was stare at her. His eyes gave away volumes. 

"I am dealing with it Max. But you need to keep out of my way." 

God, why are you being such an asshole over this? 

He thinks that if he can create enough aggravation. Cause enough annoyance. Then the people like herself would be pushed away. She was the only person he could relate to. The only person who could understand what he might be going through. 

She was the only one like him. An X5. 

_ This is how Alec deals with pain. Being an asshole and pretending everything is ok. This is how I used to deal with pain. She continued to look up at him. Allowing their eyes to bond. She slowly watched as his face features softened. But then he looked down, he was still unable to keep the eye contact. _

_What are you afraid of? She already knew the answer to that. They had encountered them yesterday. But there was something else. Something he found more terrifying. She just hoped Alec would eventually come to trust her enough to tell her.  _

"We'll do our rounds, then I'll phone Logan. See what he's found out." Max watched to see Alec nod. That was not what she wanted to talk to him about. She wanted to talk about the night before. Her feelings. But all she could do was watch him as he headed out to complete his round. She rode behind him at a distance. Watching his back. In a way protecting him.   

***

"He's in series denial. Or he's trying to avoid me." Back at Jam Pony. Max watched as Alec looked through some more packages Normal had just given him. She eyed his movement and watched as he looked up at her.  She waited to hear Logan's voice through the phone receiver. 

"Or Both" Max frowned at Logan's answer. She listened as he continued. "These people that you ran into. I think I've got an I.D on one."  _Why would he be avoiding me? What else does he have to hide? His emotions. Her thoughts confused her. She looked at Alec again. Saw the way he seemed to repel over people around him. He didn't seem to blend in. He didn't seem to want to blend in. __Why?    _

"David Gavings" it took a second for the name to register. When it did. She found her self wide-eyed and very confused. 

"No wait, isn't that the guy Alec said was working from the inside. I don't think he recognised him. I thought that he would." Logan considered this.

"Max imagine that you spent your whole life at Manticore. You were trained to follow orders. You don't think for your self and you have no reason to doubt who and what you are. Manticore has power over you." Logan checked Max was still following. "As far as your concerned there is only Manticore."

"Ok. My imagination isn't all that great, but please tell me there's a point to this." Max began to get the feeling that this was going to turn into a very long conversation. 

"But then you encounter a group of people, who think you're an abomination. Your friends and family are killed because of what they are." Logan let his words seep into Max before continuing.

"Now these perfect soldiers are going to start to run this through their mind. Manticore can't afford to have soldiers thinking like this. So they erase anything that they feel will undermine the power that they have over them." 

"Alec and his unit were brainwashed after their mission because Manticore was worried they would loose their hold over them." Max could feel anger steadily coiling its way up her spine, it rapped its way around her throat and squeezed the air out of her lungs. _Basterds. It made her wonder what else Manticore had stolen from him. What parts of him they had taken. Whether the parts left were still broken. No wonder he was the way he was. So detached. _

"Now that Alec is out of Manticore, all of these hidden memories have the chance to surface. He probably remembered key parts of the mission a while ago. That's why he was able to tell us about it. But the bigger details are only starting to resurface."

"Anything on where they may be hiding out." She watched as Alec moved towards her. He leaned on the wall but looked out towards the open door. 

"No, not yet. But I'm working on it." Max said her thanks and put the phone down.       

***

The silence between them was unearthing. It held them together yet pushed them apart. Max could hear Alec's low even breathing. She turned to look at him but he continued to stare forward. The sun was slowly starting to set. Covering them in a powerful glow of white and yellow. Soon the moon would rise through the clouds to watch over them. Alec could sense Max watching him. He could here her breathing as if it was his own. He wasn't the best of people to make drastic decisions, but if he didn't act now. He wouldn't be able to. 

Steering her into an alleyway he moved against a set of dustbins. "I'm sorry about last night, I was being a jerk." He saw confusion light up her face, then it was taken over by surprise. Hadn't she expected him to apologise? Didn't she think he was capable of emotions? He moved away from her. But she followed him. Took his arm in her hand. So gentle and caring. He wanted her to hold him. Her hand seemed so small. So perfect. But he new it would come with a price. 

So he snatched his arm away. He couldn't look at her. He didn't want to see the hurt in her eyes. See it on her face. He didn't see the hurt turn to disappointment then anger.

"It's never another is it." Max could here her voice braking. She had all of these emotions in her, but didn't no were to but them, were to aim them. "I go out of my way to try to help you and all you do is blow me off. God Alec you wont even let me near you. Do you hate me that much?" The anger that had filled her voice seemed to take over. She felt her blood bubble when he turned away from her. "You can't even look at me." 

He turned on her then. Moving faster then she fought possible. He slammed her into the wall. Her back hit it hard, pushing the air out of her lungs. She gasped as she tried to regain her posture. Fighting back, she brought her knee into his stomach. She then flipped him onto his back. He got up but she wrestled him to the floor. Bringing her body down onto his. He fought her as she held him down. 

He kicked at her but she didn't budge. Then he stopped. Alec looked up at Max. He could feel her breath on his cheek. See the twinkle in her eyes. It was like looking at 426. The memories flooded him. Blocked his senses and took over his brain. 

"Get off of me" he harshness of his voice frightened him. The look on Max's face devastated him. But he kept his own face hard. He couldn't get to close. Couldn't let Max get to close. When she didn't budge he did the only thing he could think of. He pushed her, hard as she slammed backwards. She lost her footing and crashed to the ground. Her face features hardened. Her eyes gave away her thoughts. _Don't you ever come near me again. She turned away. Heading no doubt to Logans. It was for the best. Please tell me it was or the best. Mental agony washed over him as he watched his only friend disappear. _

***

Normal's voice filled his head. Maybe he works at the salt factory. The place had been abandoned due to a chemical leak. The cult had to be housed out somewhere. At this moment in time this was his only lead. The dense woodland that surrounded the building blocked him in. The fading light couldn't make it through the thick trees. The darkness closed over him. Making him feel alone. In a way he was alone.

His trained perception didn't give away any clues to why he couldn't see a chemical leak, or even a clean up squad. But this was Seattle. Every thing was left in ruins. Nothing was fixed. Alec stared at the abandoned building. The wired mesh that surrounded it loomed down at him. A warning sign hung down from the sharp metal. **DANGER, CHEMICAL LEAK! **

The metal fencing had only recently been put in, as he could still see the dug up dirt and dying weeds. Who ever had but that up had gone through a lot to keep people out.  

This would be a perfect place for a large cult to hide out. Or better still for a small cult living and making home. They must have gone through a lot of trouble to get in. If there was a chemical leak. Please don't tell me I have to deal with mutated men. Maybe they got help. The government finally found out about us and formed with a religious cult to help eliminate all transgenics. It sounded a bit far fetch. The government couldn't even join dots.    

One thing that he had learnt from his last encounter was that they liked to post men at every corner. Alec wasn't going to take any chances. He was in full control. He scanned the fence looking for a weak spot. He followed it towards the back of the building hoping to find the way in. After no luck Alec placed his hands onto the cold metal. I guess the best way is up. 

Something cracked. Alec looked behind him to see two figures coming out of the surrounding bushes. Looking back at the building he waited until they were inches from his position. Then he kicked out his legs, continuing to hold onto the metal fence, it supported his weight allowing his feet to make contact with both men. They flew backwards, surprised by the sudden attack. 

Alec held onto the fence again as he swung his feet around to make contact with a third man that had turned up. He felt the guys jaw give way under his boot. The crack made him wince. Someone lunged at him, hands grabbed both of his shoulders. They pulled him of the fence. His right shoulder hit the floor hard. His back scrapped against the broken metal. It dug into his skin causing him to yell out.  

Alec tried to roll, but found his self pinned. "This really isn't a good time for me, maybe we could finish it tomorrow." Alec flipped his self over and punched one of the men holding him down. He used another man to block a blow. Two more men turned up. One holding a baseball bat. The increasing total surrounded him. Alec realised coming better prepared would have helped. Then he remembered 426's picture. What they did to her. He lunged forward. Diving at the guy with the baseball bat. But two people dived at him. Again he was brought to the ground. A foot connected with the side of his face. He winced and for a second lost focus. He realised his muscles were beginning to get tired.  Again the foot made contact. This time his stomach. Hard, because as he couched he saw blood. He looked up at the person the foot belonged to. White stared down at him. 

_I guess they got help. The thoughts formed in his head. __Moving would be good thing. Alec slammed the palm of his hand into one of the men. It didn't make much difference as the downed man was replaced quickly. All he got for his efforts was a hard punch. _

"494, Well you found us quicker then we thought, I guess the extra patrols searching for you were a waste of time" He knelt down beside Alec and grabbed his hair turning his face towards him. "Make sure he doesn't try anything" White let go of Alec and stood up. Moving aside Alec caught a glimpse of a knife been taken out of a pocket. The man that it belonged to smiled down at him. The guy moved forwards, kneeling beside him. 

_I am going to rip that smug grin off your face. But he couldn't move. His tired muscles screamed at him. And his slashed hand throbbed. The broken metal had done more damage than he first thought. This would be a good time for a very pissed Max to turn up. Yelling at him about dealing on his own and getting into trouble because of it. But Max wasn't going to turn up. _

The people holding him down pushed on his wrists and ankles. He tried moving again but found himself completely pinned. He saw the knife and closed his eyes. His scream pierced the still air. But was cut of by a rough hand slammed over him mouth. Blackness engulfed him before his blood touched the ground.

To be continued.

A nice long chapter. With a cliffhanger. Well I guess it's a cliffhanger.   Gets kind of boring though. I'll start the next one as soon as I start getting lots of your reviews.  


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